Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center

Viva la Differential At Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center

kendrick298 — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:48:44 +0000

With front-wheel drive being so common in Woodway these days, the differential is just taken care of during a transmission service, so most Woodway folks don’t even have to think about it. And most rear-wheel drive truck differentials don’t need to be serviced for many miles, so it’s understandable that it’s not something on the top of mind. So it’s not uncommon for TX people to not know they have a differential let alone know that it needs service.

To better understand what a differential does, think about a high school track. There are lanes marked off on the track. For the longer distance races, the starting lines are staggered. The starting lines for the outside lanes are ahead of the starting lines for the inside lanes. That’s to compensate for the longer length of the outside lanes. Staggering the starting lines means that each runner has the same distance to run.

The differential compensates for the difference in speeds on drive wheels between the inside wheel and the outside wheel in a turn, because they have to travel together through slightly different distances.

Many truck differentials do a lot of work and require very heavy duty parts. And those parts need protection. The differential fluid lubricates the gears in the differential and keeps them cool. The fluid eventually gets dirty and worn down. Some kinds of differentials require special additives that break down over time. So manufacturers and Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center technicians recommend intervals for replacing your differential fluid.

Your Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center service technician will drain the used fluid and check it out for metal bits, which could be a sign of excessive wear on the gears. He’ll then replace the fluid and install the additives if necessary.

Woodway four wheel drive trucks need special attention to their differentials because they have a differential on both the front and rear axles that work at different times and sometimes under heavy loads – so they may need to be serviced at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center at different intervals.

Your Woodway service advisor can look up the manufacturer’s recommended service interval or you can check your truck owner’s manual.

Give us a call

Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center
254.753.2491
6025 Woodway Drive
Woodway, TX 76712

At Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center in Woodway TX (76712) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 254.753.2491. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

Car Scent Is Good For TX Drivers?

kendrick298 — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:20:09 +0000

Here’s a TX travel tip that I’ll bet you didn’t know, and, it might keep you safer:

The average American commuter spends two and a half hours daily in their car.

The government says a hundred thousand auto accidents yearly are caused by drivers who fall asleep at the wheel. Aggressive driving is the number-one traffic safety concern.

So what does this have to do with how your TX car smells?

Well, which scent did you think makes drivers more alert?

Is it:

A. Strawberry
B. New Car
C. Pine
D. Warm Vanilla Breeze

It’s C. Drivers in Woodway are more alert and have less fatigue with pine scent in the car, according to AroMetrics.

And, TX drivers were less angry with overall improved driving performance with strawberry and pine scents.

And you thought they just smelled nice.

Air Conditioning Maintenance At Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center In Woodway

kendrick298 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:16:21 +0000

Most Woodway area car owners don’t service their air conditioning until after it fails. Maintaining your truck air conditioning system means that you always have enough refrigerant to properly do the job. Small leaks in the air conditioning system allow the refrigerant to escape and the system can’t cool the air as well.

Along with the refrigerant, a special oil circulates in the system. The oil lubricates air conditioning components, and keeps the seals resilient. Low refrigerant and lubricating oil means that the air conditioning parts will wear out prematurely, and we all know that air conditioning repairs can be costly in Hewitt.

Air conditioning service at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center in Woodway starts with a visual inspection of the components for signs of damage or leaks. The compressor is driven by a belt from the engine, most often the serpentine belt, so it’s inspected for cracks or wear.

The air conditioning compressor and other components are checked for proper operation by your Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center service advisor. Then comes the leak test. If a leak is detected, often in a hose or connection, it’s repaired and the truck system is retested. Your Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center technician will also perform a temperature drop test.

If needed, the old refrigerant is evacuated and the system is recharged with clean, fresh refrigerant. A final test insures that the air conditioner is working, and you’re on your way.

How often this should be done at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center varies from vehicle to vehicle. Your truck owner’s manual will have the manufacturer’s recommendation and, of course, your friendly Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center service advisor can tell you. It’s typically every two years.

Give us a call

Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center
6025 Woodway Drive
Woodway, TX 76712

Customer Detective Work In Woodway TX 76712

kendrick298 — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:26:19 +0000

One might say the most challenging part of being an automotive service technician in Woodway is diagnosing a problem before it can be fixed.

Cars in Woodway are made up of a bunch of complex systems. There usually could be a number of reasons for any given symptom. So it’s challenging to track down the actual cause of the problem. And it can be frustrating for the Woodway vehicle owner because it can take time and money to get to the bottom of a problem.

If it’s not something obvious, it’s easy for the customer to focus on the fixing and not the diagnosing.

Let us at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center introduce you to something we’ll call ‘Customer Detective Work‘ – that is helping the technician find clues to what’s wrong.

We start with the detective basics: What, Where and When. Play along with me; You come in to Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center and your car is making a funny sound…

Where’s the sound? – ‘Around the right front wheel’.

What kind of sound? – ‘Kind of a clunk, clunk sound’.

When do you hear the sound? – ‘When I turn and accelerate.

Right and left? Forwards and back?’

You see where we’re going. You’re gathering additional information to help your Woodway technician at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center know where to start. Based on your car and the tech’s experience, we’ll know where to look on you truck and can start with the obvious suspects.

You can see how that would be more helpful than dropping the car off with a note that says “making a funny noise“.

When you think you need to bring your truck in, make some notes about the problem it’s having. Rather than just saying “it’s leaking”, tell the tech the color of the fluid, and approximately where under the car you see the puddle.

Things like ‘the car is stalling or sputtering’ are often very hard to diagnose because they’re intermittent. They may not happen every time you drive and may not be happening when you actually bring the car in. So, it is a big help for you to describe what’s happening in as much detail as possible.

Your Woodway technician at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center will need to be able to duplicate the problem if possible so he needs to know details, like “It stalls after it’s been driven for about 20 minutes and I go over 50 miles an hour”.

If your Woodway technician at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center can experience the problem personally, he’s better able to make a diagnosis and repair. And, then test to see if the repair solved the problem.

Schedule A Suspension Inspection At Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center

kendrick298 — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:12:43 +0000

Today’s Woodway car care article focuses on your suspension system. After many years and tens of thousands of miles, your truck suspension system components do wear out, but how long that takes depends a lot on how you drive. As you can imagine, if most of your driving is on smooth Woodway highways, your shock absorbers will last a lot longer than if you do most of your driving on bumpy roads or hauling heavy loads.

In addition to just wearing out, Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center customers need to know that suspension components can be damaged in an accident or by a hard impact – like a pothole, hitting a curb or a rock in the road.

Because the life span of shocks can vary so widely, your truck manufacturer and Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center recommend periodic inspections. During an inspection, your Woodway service technician will check for worn, broken or missing parts.

Signs that shocks or struts are wearing out: The tires may have a cupped wear pattern. This is from the shocks bouncing unevenly as you drive around Woodway. You may notice a floaty or drifting sensation when cornering. If the front of your truck dives excessively when stopping, or rocks back and forth after you stopped, your shocks may be worn out. And if they are leaking fluid, it’s definitely time to replace them.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, come into Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center for a suspension inspection. Same if you’ve been in an accident that involved one of your wheels. Worn or broken shocks can cause premature wear or failure on other truck suspension parts such as ball joints and other steering components as well. If your suspension actually fails, it could lead to a serious accident, so let us take care of your suspension components at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center.

When you replace your shocks, it’s usually a good idea to replace all four at the same time. That’ll give you more even handling. Talk with your service advisor at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center because you don’t want a big difference between the performance of your shocks from wheel to wheel, and replacing all may be the safest bet.

Under Pressure: Your TPMS System In Woodway

kendrick298 — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:17:58 +0000

Flats, blow outs, skids and longer stopping distances can all be the result of Woodway folks driving around on under-inflated tires. Now, it’s hard to tell when a radial tire is under-inflated but your service technician at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center can help you. The tire may not look low until it gets below 20 pounds – which is significantly under-inflated.

Your newer truck or light truck might be equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS). This technology has been used by TX race car drivers for years. They are able to head off problems from under inflation by closely monitoring tire pressure on the track.

Obviously, TMPS systems don’t come free for Woodway car buyers. U.S. government studies have estimated the net costs of the TPMS system itself, maintaining the system, replacement of worn or broken parts and tire repair cost increases. The costs are partially offset for Woodway drivers by savings in fuel and tire wear. There’s also a saving in property damage and travel delay. The net cost is estimated to be between $27 and $100.

The government predicts fewer fatal accidents. They estimate that is will cost between three and nine million dollars for every life saved. This new safety equipment will help Woodway motorists avoid the most common vehicle failure, and possibly a catastrophic accident.

PCV Valve Service in Woodway TX

kendrick298 — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:21:00 +0000

The TX push for fuel economy has the benefit of using less gas as well as fewer emissions in our local Woodway environment. Cars and trucks run cleaner than ever.

Many people in the Woodway area may not realize that the first federally mandated pollution control device was in 1960: the PCV valve.

‘PCV’ stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation. The crankcase is the lower part of the engine where the crankshaft is housed and where the engine oil lives. When fuel is burned in the engine some of the explosive gases from combustion squeeze past the pistons and down into the crankcase.

Now this gas is about 70 percent unburned fuel. If it were allowed to remain in the crankcase, it would contaminate the oil and quickly turn it to sludge. Sludge is like Vaseline and clogs passages in the engine leading to damage.

Also, the pressure build up would blow out seals and gaskets. In the old days, there was just a hose that vented the crankcase out into the air. Obviously, not good for the environment.

Enter the PCV valve. It’s a small, one-way valve that lets out the gases from the crankcase, and routes them back into the air intake system where can be re-burned in the engine.

As you might imagine, the valve gets gummed up over time. If you skip oil changes now and then, the PCV valve gets gummed up even faster. If the PCV valve is sticking you could have oil leaks. Fortunately, the PCV valve is very inexpensive to replace. Some can even be checked for function by your technician.

Manufacturer’s usually recommend they be changed somewhere between twenty and fifty thousand miles. Unfortunately, PCV valve replacement is left out of some owner’s manuals, so you may need to ask your service advisor.

Come down to Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center and have us take a look at the condition of your PCV valve to ensure you are running at top efficiency. Just come by our service station in Woodway, TX 76712, or give us a call at 254.753.2491.

Budgeting for Auto Maintenance In Woodway TX

kendrick298 — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:23:48 +0000

Everyone in Woodway TX does our best to budget for scheduled vehicle maintenance.

What’s hard is planning for unexpected truck repairs.

The truth is that our vehicles can stay on our TX roads longer than ever before with proper maintenance. That’s because of improved vehicle design and manufacturing quality. But some of those same improvements also lead to higher repairs costs for every truck or vehicle.

There’s a tool that can be found on Edmunds.com that you can use to prepare your Woodway TX service and repair budget.

Let’s suppose you have a used Toyota Camry – a very popular car in the Hewitt area…

It’s now paid for and you’d like to keep it running for the next three years. You can go to Edmunds’ True Cost to Own calculator and enter your vehicle’s data. The calculator will provide estimates of what it’ll cost to service and repair your vehicle in Hewitt over the next five years. The estimate’s based on where you live in TX, manufacturers’ recommendations and repair experience for your particular model.

Of course these are just estimates – there’s no way to predict what’ll actually happen to the car in your driveway, but it’s a good starting point. The calculator also has estimates for depreciation, financing, insurance, TX taxes and fuel costs.

Let’s focus on maintenance and repair in the TX area: This table at Edmonds.com shows that the average monthly cost of maintenance and repairs for our example in TX is about eighty-three dollars. That may sound like a lot, but compare it to a new car payment.

So if you set aside eighty-three dollars a month, you’d go a long ways towards taking care of routine maintenance and being prepared for the unexpected repairs that arise.

Some folks in the 76712 zip code area are afraid of what can go wrong with their older car so they buy a new one. That’s fine if you really want a new car, but if you properly maintain your older vehicle, you’ll save a lot of money on new car payments and insurance. It just makes good economic sense when times are tight in Woodway.

Transmission Service: Smooth Shifting In Lorena

kendrick298 — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:18:50 +0000

Let’s suppose you’re going to take some friends out on the boat for some water skiing on a beautiful Lorena area lake. Of course, you get the boat ready, but what about your tow vehicle?

Think about it – heavy Lorena traffic, hilly TX terrain. Maybe some dirt roads – and it’s going to be pretty hot. And all the time you’ll be towing several thousand extra pounds around Lorena roads. That all adds up a lot of severe strain on your transmission. It’s going to be working overtime, spending more time in lower gears. The internal transmission temperature is going to be much higher than normal.

Lorena drivers need to make sure they have enough transmission fluid. If it runs low, the transmission will run hotter and won’t have the protection it needs to cope with the added stress of towing. Transmission fluid breaks down and gets dirty over time. Whether your truck has an automatic or manual transmission, you need to have it serviced on schedule at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center to make sure it runs efficiently.

Neglect your truck transmission for too long, and it can fail. You really don’t want to pay for a major transmission repair even with the reasonable rates at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center.

Before you leave your Lorena home and head to the lake, bring your vehicle in to Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center for a trip inspection. Your Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center service technician will check your fluids, belts and hoses and let you know if your brakes are in good shape. Now, don’t forget the sunscreen.

ICE

kendrick298 — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:43:44 +0000

Sometimes the unthinkable happens here in Hewitt… A terrible accident and those involved aren’t able to provide our local Hewitt rescuers with emergency contact information. There are people who must be contacted to arrange help, give consent to treatment, inform paramedics of medical conditions, allergies or medications.

Too often, Hewitt police and rescue workers must sift through pockets, glove compartments, wallets, purses and cell phone directories for clues – often wasting precious time.

A brilliantly simple solution is now spreading around the globe: ICE. ICE – standing for ‘In Case of Emergency’, is a way of identifying emergency contacts in your cell phone directory.

Simply put ‘ICE’ before a contact name, like ‘ICE – Dad’, ‘ICE – Nancy’, or ‘ICE – Doctor Roberts’. Rescuers will be able to quickly identify your emergency contacts, saving valuable time.

It’s easy and just takes a few minutes to designate some ICE contacts in your cell phone. Remember to keep the listings current.

From your friends at Kendrick Tire & Auto Repair Center in Woodway TX, we’d like you to be as safe as possible while out on the road. Give us a call any time for great automotive advice.